Substrates such as ships, underwater structures and fishing nets can be exposed to water for a long period of time, various aquatic creatures, e.g., animals such as oyster, mussel and barnacle, plants, such as laver, and bacteria are liable to adhere to the surfaces of the substrates. For example, if these aquatic creatures adhere to a ship surface and propagate thereon, the surface roughness of the ship is increased to may cause lowering of velocity of the ship and deterioration of the fuel cost. Moreover, there is a fear that an anticorrosion coating film formed on a ship surface is damaged to thereby do damages, such as lowering of strength or functions of the ship and marked shortening of a life. On this account, an antifouling coating film has been provided on a substrate surface in the past for the purpose of preventing adhesion of aquatic creatures.
The antifouling coating film is required to have properties, such as high antifouling properties and stable coating film consumption degree, over a long period of time. As an antifouling coating composition capable of forming such an antifouling coating film, a composition containing, as an antifouling agent, 4-bromo-2-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrrole-3-carbonitrile is known (patent literatures 1 and 2).
In addition to the above-mentioned properties, further, it becomes also an important problem of the antifouling coating film that the volatilization quantity of volatile organic compounds (also referred to as “VOC” (Volatile Organic Compounds) hereinafter) is decreased during formation of the coating film, taking into consideration the recent environmental problem and the effect on a human body and the like.